Technology Use and Research Approaches for Community Education and Professional Development

Abstract

This chapter describes the use of technology in the education of health care providers. Advances in technology have led to consistent use of on-line course content such as posting of syllabi, course materials, videos, and other training materials, and deployment of on-line quizzes, tests, and certification exams that take advantage of the high availability of Internet access in most educational institutions. The diffusion of other more advanced technology, such as virtual patients, and virtual worlds, such as Second Life, is much less available across training programs for health care providers. This chapter explores differences across training programs for health care providers ranging from medical education of surgeons through the education of lower-level technicians such as phlebotomists. Consistent with the theory of diffusion of innovations, early adopters of advanced technology for student training are those with the resources who recognize the relative advantages in the technology, such as medical schools. Community education also plays a role in the diffusion of innovation in the training of lower-level technicians and clinicians as community education recognizes that processes of empowerment and social justice are important components of community capacity building. The community education philosophy is consistent with the institutions, such as community colleges, that have the largest role in training health care providers and technicians. Despite advances in the use of technology for the delivery of didactic materials, there are still challenges in the acquisition of clinical skills.